Queen Street Mall, Brisbane: Shops, Food, Parking and Getting There

Queen Street Mall is Brisbane’s main open-air pedestrian shopping street, a car-free stretch in the middle of the city with more than 500 stores, heritage arcades, food courts and a stage for live performances. It is free to walk through, open to everyone and easy to reach by train and bus.

Most people come to shop, but the mall also works for a coffee, lunch, a busker or two and a look at some of Brisbane’s older buildings. It opened in 1982, so it has been the heart of city shopping for more than 40 years.

Shops on Queen Street Mall

The mall is built around shopping centres and arcades that open onto the street. The big ones are QueensPlaza (with a five-storey David Jones), Uptown (specialty stores and a Coles supermarket), Wintergarden and, across Edward Street, MacArthur Central.

Store names change often, so use the centres’ own websites if you are hunting for a particular shop.

Shop hours vary by store. As a guide, most of the shopping centres trade 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 9 pm Friday, 9 am to 5 pm Saturday and 10 am to 4 pm Sunday.

Heritage arcades and buildings

Two heritage-listed arcades open onto the mall: Brisbane Arcade and Tattersall’s Arcade. Both have small boutiques and are good for a wander out of the sun. Brisbane Arcade also has the Room with Roses afternoon tea on its gallery level, and Marchetti serves afternoon tea in Tattersall’s Arcade.

Look up as you walk, because some old building facades have been kept in front of newer shopping centres, such as at Uptown.

Food and coffee on and around the mall

There are four food courts, in Wintergarden, QueensPlaza, Uptown and MacArthur Central, so you can feed a family without sitting down at a restaurant.

For a sit-down meal, Lennon’s Restaurant and Bar overlooks the mall, and Stanton is a rooftop bar and restaurant. The laneways just off the mall are where many of the cafes sit: Burnett Lane has Brew Cafe and Wine Bar, Pho City and Alba Bar and Deli, and Albert Lane has Vapiano and Harajuku Gyoza.

Council also points out a Coles Local at 89 Adelaide Street, described as Queensland’s first.

Live music, buskers and the stage

There is a stage near the George Street end of the mall, used for music and other performances. It has an 11-metre roof, so shows can run in the rain.

Buskers perform on the mall too. Anyone who wants to busk here needs a council busking licence, which comes after an audition, so the performers you see have been approved. Brisbane Council also runs a City Sounds program of local musicians around the city.

A short history of Queen Street Mall

Queen Street was closed to traffic in 1981, and Queen Elizabeth II opened the mall on 9 August 1982, just before the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. It was designed by Robin Gibson, and the aim was to bring more people into the city centre.

The mall has been extended and refurbished several times since. Today it runs back along Albert Street, where new outdoor dining and public spaces are opening in stages ahead of the new Albert Street Cross River Rail station.

Is Queen Street Mall accessible?

Yes. The mall is wheelchair accessible, and a braille trail runs down both sides of the street. Accessible toilets are in the Albert Street public toilet block and at several levels of Uptown, Wintergarden and QueensPlaza. Accessible parking is at Uptown, King George Square and Wintergarden. Australian Disability Parking Scheme permit holders can park in all council metered or regulated parking areas.

Parents’ rooms are in QueensPlaza, Wintergarden and Uptown.

Rules in the mall

• Riding: you cannot ride bikes, e-bikes, scooters, skateboards or segways in the mall areas. Get off and walk or carry them. A $345 fine applies.
• Dogs: dogs are not permitted in Queen Street Mall (Brisbane’s official visitor site says so). Dogs can be walked on most other city streets.
• Busking: performers need a council busking licence, which involves an audition.

Planning your visit

• How long: an hour or so to walk the street and look in the arcades; half a day or more if you are shopping.
• Toilets: there is a public toilet block on Albert Street, and toilets in the shopping centres.
• Visitor information: the Brisbane Visitor Information and Booking Centre is in the Regent Theatre foyer, open 9 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday and 10 am to 4 pm on weekends (check before you go).

Getting to Queen Street Mall and parking

By train and bus

Central station is the closest train station to the mall. A free City Loop bus runs clockwise (route 40) and anti-clockwise (route 50), Monday to Friday, 7 am to 6 pm, and you do not need a go card. Plan your trip with the Translink journey planner. The Queen Street bus station sits underneath the mall.

By car

The mall is in the Brisbane Central Traffic Area, and street parking around it is limited and metered. Council’s King George Square car park is about a 2-minute walk away, and Wickham Terrace is about an 11-minute walk. Both have special late-night rates on Fridays. Paid parking is also available at QueensPlaza, Wintergarden and Uptown. There are passenger loading zones on the street for drop-off and pick-up.

From Brisbane Airport it is about 20 minutes by car, and from Surfers Paradise about 65 minutes (both without traffic).

See Brisbane Council’s Queen Street Mall page for current details.

Nearby

• Brisbane City Hall – the clock tower and heritage building on King George Square, a couple of minutes from the mall.
• Anzac Square – a memorial park in the city.
• The Old Windmill – the convict-built tower on Wickham Terrace.
• Brisbane City Botanic Gardens – shady lawns at the river end of the city, part of council’s planned walking link from Roma Street.
• Roma Street Parkland – gardens and playgrounds at the other end of that link.
• South Bank Parklands – Streets Beach and playgrounds just across the river (see also Streets Beach).
• Story Bridge – Brisbane’s best-known bridge.
• Markets in Brisbane – days and times if you would rather shop at a market.

More to see in the city: history and landmarks and everything in Brisbane.

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